The JEM Trail is found just west of the town of Virgin
near Zion National Park. It remains one of the most-popular rides in the
Hurricane area. Named for trailblazers John, Ellen, and Mike,
this trail offers high-speed desert cruising and a cliff-side ride along
the Virgin River. Except for one dangerous switchback (which you can
walk), it's an easy technical ride.
View towards Gooseberry Mesa from the
JEM Trail on July 7, 2001. Original photos and review by Bruce Argyle
in 2001. Latest
page update April 2019.
From the Highway 59 JEM trailhead at the top to the lower Sheep Bridge
road (Virgin) trailhead just off Highway 59, JEM is 7 miles long. There's 800
vertical feet of elevation loss over that distance. Riders can start from
either end, but when done uphill, four miles of the JEM trail is one-way
downhill-only and you'll need to leave JEM for Carne Asada and Dead Ringer.
There's some pretty scenery as we ride the cliffs
above the Virgin River near the Sheep Bridge road trailhead.
Important note!
In 2015 the upper 2.1-mile portion of JEM became one-way downhill only. This is the section from the Highway 59 trailhead down to the Goosebumps/Dead
Ringer connector intersection. When climbing to the Highway
59 trailhead, you must use either Dead Ringer
or the JEM Doubletrack.
And in 2022 the lower 1.8 miles also became a one-way DH. From the
lower (Virgin) JEM trailhead to the Hurricane Rim trail fork, you must use
Carne Asada when climbing uphill.
Heading downhill, just a short distance from the
upper (Highway 59) trailhead. This upper portion -- until you've dropped
off the upper hill and reached Goosebumps -- is one-way downhill.
Trailheads and access
Highway 9 Upper JEM trailhead
In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Drive exactly 5
miles uphill. Turn left on cindered doubletrack right as you approach the base of Gooseberry
Mesa. Drive another 0.3 miles to the parking area. Cross the cattle guard
at the gate, then immediately turn right on singletrack. This section of
JEM is one-way only.
Looking northeast in the upper JEM
Highway 59 trailhead.
Sheep Bridge Road Lower JEM trailhead
In
La Verkin, turn east onto Highway 9 toward Zion National Park. Drive 4 miles uphill.
Just after you reach the first homes approaching Virgin, find the cindered
Sheep Bridge Road on your right. Descend toward the bridge across the Virgin
River and find a parking spot along the road. Start pedaling. Just past
the bridge, but before the cattle guard, there's a dirt
road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne
Asada. (The parking directly at the bottom of JEM is reserved for the
nature conservancy.)
Trail
fork from JEM to Carne Asada (one-way climbing route), just 100 feet from
the trailhead at the end of the doubletrack.
See our topo map below for an overview of the area trails.
Navigation is fairly easy, but a cell phone with a trail App always
helpful when deciding where to ride next as you stand at a trail fork. The trail is well-marked with carsonite posts.
The middle portion of JEM is a high-speed flight
through the desert.
Most riders do JEM in one of three ways:
(1) Out-and-back figure-eight. From the lower parking on Sheep Bridge road
near SR-59, Carne Asada uphill to the Hurricane Rim trail fork. JEM uphill
on the two-way section to the Dead Ringer
fork at mile 5.3. Up the hill on Dead Ringer to the upper (Highway 9)
trailhead, then down JEM back to the Virgin trailhead.
(2) Top to bottom with shuttle from the lower trailhead off SR-59 the
upper JEM trailhead on SR-9.
(3) As part of the Goulds and Hurricane
Rim loop ride, doing the 5 miles of JEM that lies between SR-9 and the Hurricane Rim
trail fork in a counter-clockwise ride.
The lower part of JEM is very scenic.
Here Bruce rides toward the SR-59 trailhead, following the edge of the
wash as it approaches the Virgin River.
Then there's the old classic JEM Loop, which is 12.9 miles in length with 800 feet of altitude gain. The
first half of the classic JEM loop is uphill
doubletrack; the last 6.2 miles is downhill
singletrack. While fewer riders are using this route now, it's an
alternative for groups who want to ride side-by-side on the way uphill.
View up the wash, about 2.5 miles into
the classic loop ride in 2001. The wash here has a hard bottom, and is fairly easy to ride.
Descending JEM from top
to bottom (2019 video)...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Ride log for the downhill on JEM:
0.0 Cross cattleguard, then right on ST along the fence
0.5 Cross doubletrack
0.8 Keep R at More Cowbell connector, drop off mesa
1.4 Cross Goosebumps/Dead Ringer connector
2.1 Cross Dead Ringer, then Sheep Bridge Road
(trail becomes two-way!)
3.2 Keep R at Chinatown Wash fork
4.2 Cross Cryptobionic
5.0 Keep straight (R = climbing route, L = Hurricane Rim)
5.3 Trailhead/Camping area, connector to road on R, keep L
5.9 Connector from Carne Asada on R, keep L
6.7 Carne Asada on R, keep L
6.8 Gorge trailhead, take DT out
7.0 Sheep Bridge Road TH
Near the top of the ride, the trail
passes by a fruiting yucca.
The "badlands" and the alternating bands of red and white of Gooseberry Mesa are mudstone of the Moenkopi Formation, laid
down during the early Triassic (about 240 million years ago). As the ocean
receded, gravel and shoreline deposits formed the hard Shinarump conglomerate,
which begins the cap of the mesa.
Bruce heads away from Gooseberry Mesa.
Bottom Line
One of the best trails in the area, very popular. The trail is a fun ride, and definitely worth doing. The views into the
chasm of the Virgin River are awesome (note that you'll miss this section
of JEM if you're riding the Hurricane Loop option). The high-speed singletrack
descent is a blast. A good choice for
mixed-ability groups! The JEM trail is a must-ride for your bucket list.
In this 2001 photo -- loving the bar ends -- Bruce is
ready to drop down JEM from the doubletrack of
the old classic loop ride.
An old video (analog era)
of the guys riding the Hurricane Loop...
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Riding notes, Gould/JEM/ Hurricane Rim Loop:
Start from parking area on US-59 above Hurricane
0.0 R (downhill) on US-59
0.2 L uphill on DT
1.8 Top of DT climb
2.3 R off DT onto ST
N 37 09.606 W 113 16.330 Alt=4000'
5.4 Trailhead, L on DT, head NE
N 37 08.142 W 113 16.280
6.2 At corral, find ST rear on R
N 37 08.310 W 113 15.649
8.0 ST comes in from R
8.3 US-59. For Big Loop, cross to DT
N 37 08.096 W 113 14.564 Alt=4350'
For small loop, head downhill on road
8.6 JEM Trailhead, cross
cattleguard
N 37 08.329 W 113 14.527
Immediate R onto ST
9.0 Cross DT, descend toward cliffs
9.3 Keep R (L=More Cowbell)
N37 08.863 W113 14.661
Drop off ledge on switchback
10.0 Straight (R=Goosebumps, L=Dead Ringer)
N37 09.119 W113 15.103
10.8 Keep R (L = China Wash)
N37 10.541 W113 15.154
11.0 Cross Dead Ringer
Cross Sheep Bridge gravel road
11.1 Cross Cryptobionic
N37 10.798 W113 14.354
14.0 Fork L to Hurricane Rim
N 37 11.261 W 113 13.862
Alt=3650'
15.8 Virgin Dam trailhead
N 37 11.781 W 113 14.109
(Cryptobionic start on L)
16.0 Keep L (R=Virgin Dam trail)
18.7 R across Chinatown Wash
Straight = Chinatown Wash trail
19.6 Dam trail rejoins on R
20.2 Panorama Point
N 37 11.169 W 113 16.179 Alt=3850'
21.5 Back at parking
Getting there: From I-15 north, take the La Verkin exit on
UT-17. From the south, take the Hurricane exit on US-9 and go through
Hurricane towards Zion National Park. At the junction of US-9 with UT-17,
turn east towards Zion. 4.8 miles after the turnoff, turn right (south) on
a gravel road signed "Sheep Bridge Rd." Descend
toward the bridge across the Virgin River and find a parking spot along
the road. Start pedaling. Just past the bridge, but before the cattle
guard, there's a dirt
road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne
Asada. (The parking near the bottom of JEM is reserved for the
nature conservancy.)
Sheep Bridge Road trailhead: Found
half-way along gravel Sheep Bridge Road, which connects US-9 to US-59. Drive toward
the upper JEM trailhead on Highway 59 as above. But at mile 3.3 (while
still on the flat area), turn left on gravel road. Option 1, roadside
parking off US-59: If you turned onto Sheep Bridge Road from Highway
59, immediately park on the
right, just inside the fence. Pedal 0.4 miles northeast to where the JEM
singletrack crosses. Option 2, formal trailhead: From US-59
drive the gravel road for 2 miles and turn right into a fenced parking
lot. Or, from US-9 drive 2.9 miles on Sheep Bridge road. Cryptobionic and
northern Dead Ringer can be found here.
Upper JEM trailhead: In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Drive exactly 5
miles uphill. Turn left on cindered doubletrack right as you approach the base of Gooseberry
Mesa. Drive another 0.3 miles to the parking area.
